Homemade muesli bars

Homemade muesli bars

Homemade muesli bars

Muesli bars are an easy snack to drop into your kids’ lunch boxes but they can be expensive – and full of sugar, fat and who knows what else! Try making these healthy homemade muesli bars instead – your kids won’t taste the difference.

makes: 24
|
prep: 0:10

|
cook 0:20

ingredients

1/2 cup (125mL) honey

1/4 cup caster sugar

125g butter

3 cups rolled oats (see note for gluten-free option)

1 cup Rice Bubbles

1 cup sultanas

1/2 cup chopped apricots, dates or choc chips

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seed kernels), sunflower or sesame seeds

method

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).

Grease and line a slice tray (31 cm x 22cm) with baking paper.

Combine honey, sugar and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly. Remove from heat.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour over the hot syrup and stir to combine.

Spoon into prepared pan and press firmly to make sure the mixture will stick together.

Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Cool and then refrigerate until well chilled and cut into 24 slices (about 2cm x 6cm).

notes

To make these muesli bars gluten-free, use two cups of crushed cornflakes and two cups of rice bubbles.

When spooning into prepared pans, I wet my fingers with a bit of cold water and press the top to get a smooth finish.

The mixture has a total of 1 1/2 cups of dried fruit – use whatever combination you or your kids prefer.

I have to put some obvious choc-chips on the top so my son will tolerate the sultanas. And let’s not mention the pepitas!

You could use half honey, half smooth peanut butter in the ‘syrup’ or add nuts to the mixture, but as most schools are nut-free now I have omitted these from the basic mix.

If your kids aren’t fans of the seeds in this recipe, try making these sweet apricot muesli bars. The sprinkling of white chocolate will also give them the sugar hit they crave.

These muesli bars taste so much better than the packed ones off the shelf! Also check out this basic recipe for homemade muesli bars.

Muesli bars aren’t just for school recess. If your kids are in the habit of rushing out the door in the morning with empty tummies, these breakfast bars are great for giving them brekky on the run.

These bars will get through the gates of any nut-free school, as will these yummy allergy-friendly muesli bars.

Don’t fancy turning on your oven? These Nutella bars are a naughty once-in-a-while treat to slip into lunch boxes, and don’t require baking!

Peanut butter is often banned from schools because of allergies, but it tastes amazing in muesli bars! Try making peanut butter muesli bars in the holidays or on weekends when kids are off from school.

Missing some of the ingredients for these bars? Not to worry … Chances are you’ll have what you need to make these easy 2-ingredient muesli bars and 2-ingredient energy bars instead.

These muesli bars contain lots of healthy seeds, as do yummy bars made with chia seeds.

Recipe created by Melissa Hughes for Kidspot, Australia’s best recipe finder.